LAZARE, Gerald (1927-)

Self-portrait, Gerald Lazare

Gerald Lazare (1927-)

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

Gerald Lazare was born in Toronto in 1927 and left school at age sixteen to draw comic strips for Canada’s Golden Age comic publisher, Bell Features. At Bell he created such strips as Nitro; the Wing; the Dreamer; Drummy Young; Air Woman and others and acknowledges that Alex Raymond was his greatest influence for his comic book work. He went on to work as an illustrator for Saturday Night Press, Bomac Engravers, Clement Salias Inc. and Art Associates. Along the way he took the Famous Artists Course and studied for a year in Europe, before returning to Bomac as a senior illustrator. In 1956 Lazare started his freelance career working for magazines, books and television in Canada. In the United States he created historical paintings and murals for museums and governments. Lazare joined the faculty of the Ontario College of Art in 1966 and returned to gallery painting in 1974.

Gerald has been widely published and exhibited. Collections and commissions include; Confederation Life, Bank of Montreal, MacLean Hunter, McLelland and Stewart, City of Toronto Archives, The Hudson Bay Company, Metro Toronto Library, Museum of Man and the Cartier Museum.

As a cartoonist, illustrator, teacher and fine artist, Gerald Lazare fills a sizeable chapter in the history of Canadian Art.